Social Studies

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Integrating Smart Boards into the

Social Studies Classroomwhiteboards.jpg


Ideas for Whiteboard

  • Build timelines
  • Categorize landforms
  • Compare time periods, groups, and civilizations (i.e., Mayans/Incans/Aztecs, Indian Tribes, Ancient Civilizations)
  • Compare the clothing of rich and poor in specific time periods (i.e.,Victorian times). What would it be like to wear these clothes? How would they feel?
  • Distinguish laws, interpretation of law, and enforcement of law
  • Examine primary resource materials such as historic documents and maps
  • Label maps
  • Identify branches of government, states vs national government, types of governments
  • Show development of cities, movement of people (i.e., immigration), developments of products (i.e., transcontinental railroad, food from farm to city)
  • Take virtual field trips
  • Trace the movement of people (i.e., authors, characters in story, movement of troops, Lewis and Clark)

Notebook Filesstudent_smart.jpg


Tips & Tricks:
  • Items in the Gallery (Locate "Gallery" along the left side of the Notebook Software window). Once the Gallery is open--Select→Essentials for Educators→YOUR SUBJECT AREA in the Gallery you will find a number of subject area related clip art items, including flash graphics, backgrounds, full pages, etc.

  • Lesson Activity Toolkit: Become familiar with the Lesson Activity Toolkit located in the gallery (picture frame icon) where you will find "preformatted" notebook files that can simply be edited.

Finding Pre-Made Lessons:
  • Go to the Smart Education Site: http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us/
  • From the web site select “Lesson Activities for Notebook”→you will find it in orange along the left side of the window.
  • Navigate to the last link entitled, All Lesson Activities--browse by curriculum standard, subject, or grade level.

Interactive Web Sites for Whiteboard
  • Teacher's Love SmartBoards--Social Studies LInk: This site gives links to sites that social studies teachers are using on their SmartBoards and also how they are using them. In some cases, interactive sites are given....at other times a notebook page is available for download.
  • Hippocampus: The Partnership for Innovation has provided funding to bring Nebraska students and educators access to the content from the Nataional Repository of Online Content (NROC). Here is Nebraska's link to the content on
  • Word Sift: is a tool that many educators find helpful when looking at content and text in an interesting and interactive way. Using the Smart Board to demonstrate this tool will open new possibilities for students when looking at social studies vocabulary and content:
  • Wall Wisher: use this interactive tool to create a timeline of events and pictures, share ideas, gather feedback and organize thoughts.
  • Etherpad: Drawing, writing, organizing, brainstorming, sharing...the sky is the limit with this collaborative and interactive tool
  • Smithsonian's History Explorer: Select the resource type as "interactive & media" along with the grade level and topic area and interactives from the Smithsonian collection are at your fingertips.
  • Bill of Rights Matching Game: An elementary and secondary level is available. A scenario is given and the user must decide if the scenario is covered in the Bill of Rights.
  • Library of Congress Historical presentations on a wide range of topics. Many include interactive presentations showing primary source documents.
  • Google Maps/Google Earth Explore a wide range of geology and historical topics through this interactive site and software
  • Go Back in Time
  • Online Interactive Maps
  • GeoGames Put together a globe on the SMARTBoard.